Is there a digital divide?

Transcription

1 Is there a digital divide? Bilha Ndirangu and Marta Luczynska 21G.034: Media, Education, and the Marketplace Professor Shigeru Miyagawa September 27, 2005

2 Outline What is the digital divide? Domestic divide International divide Conclusion 2

3 What is the digital divide? The Oxford English Dictionary defines the digital divide as: The gulf between those who have ready access to current digital technology and those who do not; the perceived social or educational inequality resulting from this. 3

4 Overview of Technology in the US Telephones Computers Internet Access (1998) 59.1% of population is online There are 166 million internet users in the US this represents 27% of the world s internet users 4

5 Notes on Technology in the US It is clear that the US has made great advances in technology The US has some of the highest internet penetration rates in the world How is the distribution of internet access within the US? 5

6 Factors determining computer ownership and internet access: Income Race/Origin Education Household Type 6

7 Income Households with an income > $75,000 are more 7 times more likely to have internet access than households earning < $10000 Low income rural households have a 2.9% internet access rate compared to high income urban households 62% 7

8 Income (cont d) Disparity exists even when race and family structure are the same : A two-parent hispanic family earning more than $35,00 is 6 times more likely to have internet access than a similar family earning <35,000 8

9 Race/Origin Computer ownership & Internet Access Asian/Pacific islander 55%, 36.6% White Households -46.6%, 29.8% Black Households %, 11.2 % Hispanic households 25.5%, 12.6 % 9

10 Education Households with a college degree or higher are 16 times more likely to have internet access than those with elementary education Disparity greater in rural areas College degree holders are 26 times more likely to have internet access than those with elementary school education 10

11 Household Type Single parent households lag in computer ownership 61.8% ownership in two parent households 31.7% computer ownership in female headed households 11

12 Important Notes The digital divide is expanding The rate of internet access growth among leading groups is faster than those with lower access Education and Income are the main elements driving the digital divide 12

13 International Digital Divide Technology Disparities (1998) Internet Users and Personal Computers (2000) Africa vs. United States (2004) Factors Affecting the International Digital Divide 13

14 Technology Disparities Telephones In 1998, there were 146 telephones (per 1000 people) in the world 19 (per 1000) in South Asia 3 (per 1000) in Uganda Mobile Phones (1998) 55 (per 1000 people) had mobile phones worldwide 1 (per 1000) in either South Asia or Uganda 14

15 Technology Disparities Computers (1998) 70.6 PCs (per 1000 people) worldwide (per 1000) in developed countries 2.9 (per 1000) in South Asia 0.75 (per 1000) in Sub-Saharan Africa 0.7 (per 1000) in Mali 15

16 World Network Map (1999) Image removed due to copyright reasons. Source: 16

17 Technology Disparities (2000) Bandwidth U.S. linked with Europe by 56 Gbps and with Asia- Pacific region by 18 Gbps Africa linked with Europe with 0.2 Gbps and with U.S. by 0.5 Gbps Speed 256Kbps internet connection in South Africa is speedy DSL or T-1 (1.5Mbps) is a minimum small business connection in the U.S. 17

18 Percentage of Population Online by Major Region (2000) Percentage of the Population Online by Major Region, % Population Scandinavia North America Western Europe Middle East Central and Eastern Europe Asia South America 0.5 Africa Source: Pippa Norris, Digital Divide 18

19 Internet Users and PCs (2000) Computers (per 100 people) Internet Users (per 100 people) Sub-Saharan Africa United States Source: 19

20 Internet Users Worldwide (2000) Internet Users Worldwide (in millions) American Asia-Pacific Region Western Europe Sub-Saharan Africa Other

21 Percentage of Population Using New and Old Media (2000) Percentage of Population Using New and Old Media New Media Old Media Population Weighted Daily Mainline Mobile Online Hosts PCs Radios TV sets Newspaper Phones Phones Region Scandinavia North America West Europe Central and Eastern Europe Asia-Pacific Middle East South America Africa Source: Pippa Norris, Digital Divide

22 Comparison Between Africa and the United States (2004) Image removed due to copyright reasons. (per 100 people) Source: 22

23 Factors Affecting International Digital Divide Prices Access costs are almost four times as expensive in the Czech Republic and Hungary as in the U.S. Access Speed and Cost Phone calls are charged by the minute (i.e. slower internet connections higher cost) Technical Training and Human Capital Relevance of Content 78% of all sites and 96% of e-commerce sites are currently in English 23

24 References Norris, Pippa. Digital Divide Civic Engagement, Information Poverty, and the Internet Worldwide. Cambridge University Press. Cambridge, United Kingdom: Spanning the International Digital Divide. (September 25, 2005) How many online? (September 25, 2005) ICT Free Statistics. International Telecommunication Union (September 25, 2005) 24

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